Canadian mining company Nuinsco hopes to seal a concession agreement in Egypt's Eastern Desert before the year-end, allowing it to explore an area where pharaohs once dug up gold to gild amulets and sarcophagi. Egypt's gold mining industry, dating back to the days of Tutankhamun, faded in the 20th century largely because of curbs on foreign investment imposed by President Gamal Abdel Nasser but changes to Egypt's mining code in 2008 renewed interest. Firms such as Nuinsco and Centamin Egypt are betting now that there is more gold beneath the pharaoh's relatively shallow trenches. "If they were finding gold in a trench that was being dug down to six feet, there's no reason to think that the gold ended at the bottom of that trench," Nuinsco President Paul Jones told Reuters in a telephone interview. Nuinsco must spend $2 million on exploration in its first year under the terms of the Bukari concession agreement, Jones said. The firm plans to begin some early sampling, prospecting and mapping next week. Toronto-based Nuinsco, also involved in projects in Turkey, explores mostly for gold, copper, zinc, uranium.
